Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict

A Stila Stunning in Sayulita Palette Hump Day Face of the Day

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Rise and shine, morning glory. 🙂 I felt like wearing my green dress today, so I thought I’d incorporate some green in my eye look, too. A color called Palm Tree from Stila’s new Stunning in Sayulita Palette provided the green.

The $14 palette (BARGAIN ALERT!) comes with four powder shadows, a powder blush and a bronzing powder, which, hello, is so light that it probably performs better as a highlighter on my tan skin.

For this look, I followed the little tutorial that comes with the palette (I appreciate when companies include these things; they’re cheap to make and great for ideas and inspiration) and then wrapped it up with Bobbi Brown’s High Shimmer Lip Glosses in Bellini on my lips.


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Hold That Curl (Temporarily, at Least)! New Stila Forever Your Curl Mascara

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“Hey, baby! You’ve got to remember (got to remember)… I’m forever your curl!” It sounds like someone over at Stila HQ rocked out to this song back in the day because the name of their new lash lengthening and curling mascara is practically a titular dupe.


Forever Your Girl, Paula Abdul, 1988

I LOVED that song. Nevermind Paula’s sometimes questionable singing in it or how the song sounded auto-tuned (I don’t know if it was). Gotta give the gal credit for turning lemons into lemonade.

I remember a trip back in eighth grade with my friend to Great America, one of the Six Flags amusement parks, and they had this thing that was kinda like a karaoke booth, where you could sing along to a song that they’d turn into a taped recording for you. My friend and I sang Forever Your Girl. And it was awful. It was absolutely terrible.

Thankfully, I have no idea where that tape is now. 🙂 If I did, I’d probably be tempted to share it on the blog (NOOOOO!).

New for summer, Forever Your Curl joins the Stila permanent line, and I wanted to meet her mostly because of a claim Stila makes. They say it curls lashes immediately AND over time.

“Forever Your Curl Mascara contains an encapsulated raw ingredient that enhances lash-curl memory and a proprietary styling resin that dries down and holds the curl of the lashes. A film forming polymer also wraps lashes and lengthens without fibers. Plus, a patent-pending brush coats and extends each lash, from base to tip, dramatically lengthening and curling…”

–StilaCosmetics.com

Interesting concept, right? Since my lashes are naturally so dang straight that I sometimes think they have anti-curling powers, I couldn’t wait to give it a try.

But after wearing it daily for one full week, all I can say is…

Eh.

For regular, temporary lash curling, yep, I think it delivers, but it seems no more potent than that. It’s just a straight-up curling and lengthening mascara, as far as I can tell, fine for cute doe-eyed looks.

And that would have been good enough if it wasn’t for the claim: that it also curls “over time.” I suppose I haven’t used it long enough to realize long-term benefits yet (I’m impatient), but still. My lashes look just as straight as they did before.

Even as a regular mascara, it has its flaws. The brush tends to deposit more product than it should (even when I dilute/attempt to remove the visible excess), and I see smudges along my lower lash line after just a few hours.


Before


After two coats
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9 Things That Made a Difference

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It never hurts to take stock of the things that’ve made a difference and influenced your life in positive ways. Here’s my list, in no particular order. Can’t wait to read yours. 🙂

(Oh, and because this is MBB, feel free to mix in both beauty related and non-beauty related things!)

9 Things That Made a Difference

1. More sleep

When I was in high school and college, I would pride myself on being able to whirl through my days on five or six hours of sleep, but when I hit my mid-20s, and it happened almost suddenly in fact, I started waking up cranky and feeling groggy all the time.

I figured out the problem after I went to bed early one night, hours before my usual bedtime. The next morning I felt like a new girl, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I could have been a superhero with all of the energy coursing through my veins.

Crap! I’d been sleep deprived for almost a decade.

My sweet spot seems to be about eight hours of sleep, and when I’m able to get it, not only do I mentally and physically function better, but I see the difference in the mirror. My dark circles look less dark and scary, and I don’t break out as much.

Now, every so often, I go through bouts of insomnia (so annoying), but I really try to get as much sleep as I can. Going to bed early at least once a week helps.

2. Getting a pet

Rather, allowing myself to be adopted by a cat. 🙂 Tabs turned out to be one of the happiest accidents of my adult life. I always had pets growing up, but when I left home for college and moved in with roommates, furry companions weren’t allowed. And then five years ago Tabs entered my life hired me as his assistant, and now I laugh and love so much more with him in my life. ‘Nuff said.

3. Exercising regularly

I wasn’t athletic as a kid and barely ever exercised through high school and early college. Then, during my junior year, while I was going through a bad breakup, a friend invited me to her kickboxing class. I was filled with anger at the time, and when she said, “You can beat the living crap out of a heavy bag,” I said, “When do we leave?”

It was a great emotional release. Needless to say, I started going on a regular basis and soon added jogging, and then a membership to a gym. Within a few months, I was over the breakup, sleeping better at night and was a full dress size smaller.

Over the years, I’ve gone through phases where I haven’t exercised at all, but I always feel better when I resume. Nowadays, I mostly exercise on a treadmill, which I try to do at least four times a week.

4. Taking risks

Some things aren’t worth the risk, but other things are. Six years ago (gosh, has it been that long?), I left a steady corporate job in the legal field (I was a legal assistant) to make a run at writing full time.

I wrestled with the decision for years. I didn’t want to make a horrible mistake, and the corporate job was secure. I knew I’d miss the pay (damn those golden handcuffs), but I was also very unhappy and totally uninspired. I felt that if I stayed there for purely financial reasons, I’d grow more and more bitter over time.

So I resigned (scary!). First, I landed a gig working at a literary agency, where I started freelancing for magazines on the side.

Looking back now, I only wish I’d done it sooner. Taking that leap was one of the best decisions of my life because it led to Makeup and Beauty Blog, and it introduced me to you. 🙂

5. Learning to love my hair

It took some growing up and several bad haircuts, but now I love my wavy hair. It’s part of my identity, and now I can’t imagine NOT being a curly girl.
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Let’s Give a Big Round of Applause for the Lush Tiny Hands Moisturizing Bar

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Okay, so it kinda looks like an artifact from Raiders of the Lost Ark — a relic buried long ago in a booby trapped cave. But it’s not. The new Lush Tiny Hands Moisturizing Bar shouldn’t be hidden from prying eyes. No, it should be cautiously (more on that in a sec) brought forth from its little tin and given a big round of applause.

After doing some spring cleaning last weekend, my hands looked rough, cracked and felt sore (and don’t even get me started on my cuticles). My paws needed a hand, so I took it as an opportunity to test Lush’s solid moisturizing bar.


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